This week’s news… condensed

Ten of this week's best-read stories...

New Star

The employment tribunal brought by Patrick Evershed against former employer New Star continued, with allegations about his choice of words to describe colleagues and a dark description of the atmosphere at the company.

Hoban

When Mark Hoban speaks, he usually annoys financial advisers. He continued that trend he told an audience that people on average to above average income are unattractive to the financial advice sector. He also mounted a defence of the Money Advice Service.

Cofunds takeover?

The week began with reports that L&G had made an offer for Cofunds, although the platform provider swiftly denied its backers want out.

Sesame restricted

Sesame announced details of its restricted proposition, available to members from the middle of next year. It also unveiled its new investment arm.

UCIS

If you are dealing with unregulated collectively investment schemes - and doing it compliantly - you might want to think about charging a little more.

RDR success

Want to know how the FSA will judge the success of the retail distribution review? The FSA revealed its key indicators and baselines for the post-implementation review.

Bad banks

In news that surprised no one, research emerged showing just how poor some the advice from banks and building societies out. In an undercover investigation, the worst offenders included Halifax and Yorkshire Building Society.

Legacy commission

As expected, the FSA stuck to its guns and confirmed its proposed ban on legacy commission. The only commission payment that may remain after 2012 will be trail commission agreed on a contract set up before the deadline.

Adviser representation

Sesame CEO George Higginson spoke out about the state of adviser representation, saying the community needed to come together. Gill Cardy, who has launched a trade body to rival AIFA, was feeling less conciliatory.

Enforcement

We couldn't have a week without a bit of FSA enforcement action. This time, a discretionary fund manager was fined £15,050 for breaching the regulator's client money rules while an insurance broker was banned and fined £195k for insurance fraud.